Reflection
by Charlie Grayson
Summary: After a humiliating defeat, Robin decides he needs to get away. But when he runs into a new face, who says he can make all his troubles go away, will he dive in too deep, or can he save himself in time? R&R Please! Set in Season 1
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, this is kind of just me venting. Yes, it is probably completely out of character. But I needed to get this out. It will either be a one-shot, or maybe three or four chapters, at most. I doubt it will be super huge though. Like I said, it's just me venting.**

**Yeah, I don't own Young Justice. It wouldn't be a bad birthday present though :P**

Lightning cracked through the sky, threatening rain. Robin, who was hidden within the shadows awaiting to 'ok' from his Martian friend, didn't seem to care.

_Ok Robin,_ the telepath's voice rang in his head. _He's coming your way. Be prepared. _His body tensed, aching to leap from his hiding place in the shadows and do what he'd been waiting for all night. But he must sit still.

Suddenly, the door across the alley opened, and a man stepped out. He popped the hood up on his black hoodie, and began to casually walk out of the alley. His brown hair covered part of his pale white face as he walked right past Robin. _I could take him. Easy._ Robin thought to himself.

_I have visual._ Robin telepathically announced.

_Good. Engage. But be careful. He is just the messenger._ Kaldur replied. The rest of the team was stationed atop various rooftops all around. Robin, being the stealthiest and knowing his way around the Bat-glare, had been stationed in the alley to catch the thug when he exited the warehouse.

Robin didn't reply to his leader, but instead let out a loud cackle. He turned, wide-eyed, then whipped around again and started running away from the mysterious laughter. Fortunately, Robin had been counting on that.

He shot his grappling hood to the rooftop across the street, swinging himself with enough force to land right in front of the guy. Instantly, fluidly, Robin sent an upper cut straight into the thug's jaw. However, the man began grinning as Boy Wonder realized his fist was stuck in the hand of this guy.

He stood, frozen in shock, for just a moment. Unfortunately, a moment was all this thug needed. He punched Robin square in the face, sending him flying backwards.

The cold concrete was hard under Robin as his back slammed against the asphalt of the old roads of Gotham. The air was momentarily knocked from his lungs, and as he struggled to catch it, a large, booted foot slammed into his chest, rolling his body over.

_Robin!_ M'gann thought.

_Don't! _he replied sternly, glancing up at the rooftop where her dark form stood. _I can handle this. _

The Martian looked at Aqua Lad, who nodded, understanding Robin's desire to win. She restrained herself, but reluctantly.

As Robin finally seemed to catch his breath, he began to get up. But another kick to the face sent him back to the ground, struggling to get back up. Panting, Robin forced himself up and into a fighting stance.

"C'mon out, Batsy!" the thug yelled at nothing. "Or," he thoughtfully looked at the boy who was sloppily charging into him. His fist that was slowly swung towards the thug's face was easily dodged. Robin received a punch in the gut, face, side, back, or chest for every stupid move he pulled. And tonight he seemed to be full of them. "Bird Boy didn't come alone did he?"

"No he didn't!" Suddenly, the whole team was there. Robin lay, panting, on the ground. His head drooped low in shame, and he was afraid to look up at his team mates; he was afraid of what he might see in their eyes, written so obviously on their faces. _How could you be so stupid Robin? _

"Dude," he felt KF's gloved hand lightly touch his shoulder, not quite patting it and not quite resting. Just gently hovering above him. "Are you,-"

"I'm fine." Robin jumped up, shrugging off his friend's hand and turning away without looked at them. He began walking towards the shadows, where he could hide away his humiliation in peace, where he could escape to get home and away from the disappointed expressions that he was sure was all over their faces. He knew it wouldn't be long before Bruce heard about it. He didn't want to talk about what just happened.

"Robin! Wait!" he heard Artemis scream after him. But he knew she couldn't see him. He knew he was hidden in the shadows, away from their faces and their sympathy. He didn't need it, and he certainly didn't want it.

He slipped into an alley and silently climbed the fire escape ladder. Once up on the roof, he stopped to look over the edge at his confused friends. Although they searched for their friend, they knew they'd never find him. When Robin wanted to disappear, he would disappear. He had, after all, been trained by one of the stealthiest men alive.

Ashamed, he turned away. He couldn't look at his friends right now. _How could you be so stupid, Robin? _He asked himself, although right now he felt a lot more like Dick Grayson than Robin. He ran at full speed across the rooftop, leaping from building to building.

_**That night…**_

Standing in front of the mirror, he felt paralyzed. His Robin uniform looked almost perfect, a little dirty and wrinkled, but the fabric had been designed for wear-and-tear. Slowly, his hand reached up to his face, rubbing the small dark bruise underneath his mask. Suddenly, angered with himself, he ripped the mask off, so that Robin no longer stared back at him. Now, he looked at the sapphire eyes of Dick Grayson. They looked so beautiful, yet empty.

_Put the mask back on. Richard Grayson is nothing special. _A voice in his head said. Perhaps the Richard Grayson half of him.

_But Robin, the Boy Wonder, got the beat up by an everyday thug, a common criminal._ Said the Robin in him, out of shame.

_Robin is a hero! He is brave, fearless, he fights evil and protects the world on a daily basis. Dick Grayson is just a spoiled rich kid._ The other voice retorted. He had grown used to arguing with himself about who he really was. It had been happening since he became Robin.

_Robin is a failure. He doesn't deserve to be a hero if all a common thug has to do is push him around a little. He is a shame to the Justice League, to his team mates, and to his mentor. _Wow. That one hurt more than he'd expected it to.

Suddenly, his mental argument was interrupted by a gentle knock on his bedroom door. He knew it was Bruce, and he knew what he wanted. He wished like hell he would just go away, but he knew that would not be happening. He had just head the slight click of metal as the knob turned and the door swung open.

"Dick?" he heard Bruce's voice filled with uneasiness. Apparently, he wasn't the only one not looking forward to the conversation at hand.

"I'm in here, Bruce." He said, stepping out of the bathroom. Bruce looked slightly shocked, but did his best to hide it, knowing the boy would take it as disappointment. Dick knew better though. Anyone else would have said that Bruce or Batman's features were as easy to read as a rock, but Dick and Robin could always tell. When you know someone like the two knew each other, you get to the point where you can practically read each other's minds.

"We should talk, about what happened tonight."

"I'm fine." Dick assured the man, who had made himself comfortable on the boy's perfectly made bed. "Really." He put on a smile, but Bruce could easily see it was fake.

"Just tell me what happened." Bruce said, patting the bed next to him as his saying, _Sit down and tell me how bad you messed up._

Obeying the older man, Dick sat down. "I got cocky, and messed up. Then I let some stupid thug hand it to me." He said, holding back his disappointment in himself. He did well this time, for Bruce didn't notice it. But masking it didn't make it disappear, and Dick knew that better than most people.

"Well, next time, try to-,"

"There won't be a next time." The boy interrupted the older, shocking them both. His words were dripping with sorrow, but sadly he knew it was true. If he couldn't even take down a drug dealer, how could he handle all the other psychos of Gotham?

"What?" Bruce asked, confused.

"I can't be Robin. I obviously can't handle it, so I failed you. I'm sorry." He whispered this time, not bothering to hold back the disappointment, he was trying too hard to hold back the tears instead.

"Dick," Bruce started. "Just try again. You just messed up. Believe it or not, I did that once or twice." He chuckled slightly to himself, as if remembering fond memories. "Clear your head and it won't happen again."

Slightly smiling, Dick let a small, almost inaudible laugh escape his lips. "Thanks." Was all he said. And with that, the older man got up and left, feeling he had comforted the boy.

As the door clicked shut, he remained on the bed. He realized he was still wearing his Robin uniform, but he didn't care. The only thing that changed when Bruce left was the smile on his face as it slowly morphed into a frown. The fingers of rain began lightly tapping his window, matching his mood. Suddenly, he felt a small buzz.

He reached into his utility belt and pulled out a small phone. It was one of those fancy phones that only rich people get. Looking at it, he felt more like the average Dick Grayson than ever. He turned it on, noticing he had a text.

"Hey, dude." The screen showed him the words, and in his voice Wally read them in an excited voice.

"Hi." He replied, knowing Wally would soon bring it up.

He looked down at his phone, now freaking out in the palm of his hand. **INCOMING CALL: WALLY. **Underneath the flashing words was a picture of Robin and Wally doing bunny ears on one another.

"Hello?" Robin said, his voice boring and flat.

"Hey!" Wally exclaimed. "I didn't think you'd pick up." He admitted a bit sheepishly.

"I didn't want to." Robin said, just a little too harshly. He could tell his friend's mood had been dampened slightly y the remark. "Sorry. Just… Not feeling very whelmed right now." Robin said, trying to clear his heads from the events of that night.

"It's cool." Wally half-heartedly murmured. "Are you going to the mountain tomorrow?" he asked.

"Probably not, why?" Dick responded, his voice so emotionless Wally had to remind himself it wasn't Batman on the phone.

"M'gann is throwing this huge party. She told me to make sure you come." Wally said, sounding a little depressed due to his friend's lack of happiness. This whole thing must have affected him more than he first thought.

"Dick?" Wally said, the silence boring him.

"Yeah, I'll think about it." The thirteen year-old's voice was grave, and seemed distant.

"Rob, are you okay?" There it was. Those dreadful words he had been hoping would not come. But they echoed in his head and he knew he had to pretend everything was okay.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Robin, no Dick, he didn't know anymore who had responded. His fake excitement was almost believable. But Wally knew better."I'll be there." He promised his friend.

"Alright, call me if-,"

"I will." He hung up the phone. He knew what the end of that sentence would be, and he didn't want to hear it. _Call me if you can't handle yourself, Dick. _But he couldn't.

He stood up, pulling his tunic over his head and tossing it carelessly across the room. He heard his phone buzzing again and say the picture of him and Wally.

"Leave me alone, Wally!" he screamed, clenching his fist around the buzzing phone. He heard the plastic shell cracking, and suddenly threw the phone angrily at the wall. Powder fluttered through the air as the phone exploded on impact into the now broken dry wall.

He walked back into the bathroom, shedding his body of the rest of the uniform. He looked at himself in the mirror. Now staring back at him was Richard Grayson, the happy, freshman, genius. But he didn't want to be Richard Grayson. He wanted to be Robin.

But weren't they the same person? Underneath the mask, Robin was just Dick Grayson. He was just a child pretending to be a hero.

No. They weren't the same. Robin was a hero. He'd never lost. Not until tonight, anyway. Dick Grayson was just some kid, wise cracking at adults and playing with the English language.

Standing there, staring into the mirror, he decided he needed to get away. He needed to stop looking at this, stop questioning himself. He was a hero. He'd saved countless lives, including Batman's. He looked on the floor, spotting his Robin mask crumpled up. He reached down, picked it up, and looked at it, hanging limply hanging in his hands. He put it back on his face, masking his beautiful blue eyes. Looking back on the mirror, he looked odd in his boxers and Robin mask, but he felt better slightly.

Exiting the bathroom once more, he noticed the rain had picked up slightly. Above the tapping of rain, he heard another knock and the concerned voice of Alfred on the other end.

Suddenly, he didn't want to be there anymore. He didn't know where he'd rather be, but anywhere but here. Anywhere but this prison of a life. Impulsively, he opened his window. Poking his head out, he saw a rain gutter trailing down the side of his house. He grabbed a hold of it, pulling himself into the accelerating rain. He began to slowly climb, using the brick house to push up.

He lay facing up, his hands behind his head as the rain plastered his ebony hair to his forehead. His masked eyes were closed behind the mask, raindrops exploding on his body and the shingles surrounding it. He opened his eyes when he heard his name through the darkness.

"I'm on the roof, Alfred!" he shouted through the night.

"Master Dick, I do wish you would come down from there!" he heard Alfred call. "You will catch a cold out in the rain like that!"

"I'm fine, Alfred!" he replied, his annoyance tampering with his tone. _Why can't anyone just leave me alone today? _He thought. He didn't want to go back. He wanted to be alone right now, away from all this, where he could just take a moment and not think about anyone except himself. _Whoever I am…_ he quickly erased that thought from his mind. He felt so trapped.

Not that he'd never been trapped before. He'd been kidnapped by too many times to count.

But this was different. He was trapped in his life, in his own confusion. He lacked a family. No, he had a family, it just wasn't the same though. He was trapped in his same routine, he wanted to do something impulsive and reckless. There was no room for recklessness in Robin's life. And Dick Grayson wasn't impulsive.

He no longer wanted to be Robin, or Dick Grayson. He could make up a new alter ego, and go somewhere else. Somewhere where his humiliation wouldn't follow him. He knew that that thug would be so delighted to tell everyone at Arkham about how he'd beaten Boy Wonder. Everyone would know. The villains would use that against him. He didn't know how, but they would.

"Dick!" he heard Bruce call. The concern echoed through the words that filled the darkness.

"Yes, Bruce?" Dick called back in mock excitement, just like all those preppy boys on old television shows.

"Come inside."

_Batman mode: engaged._ Dick thought to himself. He found himself smirking at his own mental remark.

"It's late, Dick. Come inside."

Not wanting to argue right now, he stood up. Before beginning the climb back to his room, he took off the soaking Robin mask. Crumpling it into his fist, he hid it from sight. He jumped back into his room, little water droplets falling to their deaths on the hard wood floor. Alfred and Bruce looked away from the soaking wet thirteen year old in his boxers.

Awkwardly, Bruce left the room, murmuring good night to both of the others. After bidding Dick a good night's rest, Alfred did the same. Dick found himself alone in his room, his shame and humiliation radiating off the walls. It seemed like that's how it always was.

**So….? Love it, hate it, I don't care. Review it. Again, I was just kind of venting. It's not an actual story, just me putting my thoughts on paper. Or screen, whatever the case may be. **

**However, as I was writing, I did kind of come up with a few places to take this story. If I get a satisfying amount of reviews, I'll pick one and go with it. If not, I'll probably upload another chapter and leave it at that. So, tell me what you think. Thanks for reading! **


	2. Chapter 2

**HEY! I know what you're thinking, and don't kill me. I've been incredibly busy. But fear not, loyal readers! School's out Thursday, therefore I promise to update HOPEFULLY on a weekly basis. No promises on the weekly part, but I will update sooner. On all three stories! Yeah go me! **

**Anyway, I wish to dedicate this chapter to GGCharms! Without her I never would have figured out how to upload a second chapter, let alone several different stories. Plus, she's helped me out with how to continue this story and a different one, which you should check out just saying. **

**Oh! Did you know I don't own Young Justice, or Cartoon Network, or DC comics, Or any characters. I only own the plot. Just thought I'd play Captain Obvious for a minute. **

Lightning streaked across the ebony sky, sending a slender boy's shadow flying across the yard from where he sat, perched in between his cozy bedroom and the pouring outdoors.

He took one last look back, sighed, and then leapt down the two story building, landing gracefully on the mud. Lightning struck yet again, revealing the face within the shadows of the hood.

Dick.

As soon as the lighting was gone, he was stealthily running down the yard, staying in the shadows and avoiding the security cameras that he knew. He knew the exact positions of them, and he knew their blind spots.

Stealthily, he opened the garage just a crack. Just enough for him to get in, grab his motorcycle, and get out. Without starting it, he wheeled it down the long, muddy drive way.

When he reached the end, he looked back. This place had been home to him for almost five years, he had learned and trained here. It would be hard to leave it behind. But he had to. At least, for now. Surely, Bruce would understand.

He jumped on the now soaked seat of the bike, adjusting the stuffed backpack as he did. Starting the engine, he knew it wouldn't be long until Bruce saw the security footage of him sitting there.

He stared up at the camera, and waved before speeding off into the night.

He sat, perched upon a roof top of the tallest building in Gotham. The rain plastered his ebony hair to his face, soaking almost completely through his domino mask.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. His heart momentarily stopped, but then he figured it was just Batman, coming to bring him home.

"Batman, I'm not coming-" his voice was cut off as if a knife had been plunged through his words. Standing behind him wasn't Batman, but a different man.

A mask stared back at him, an orange and black mask with only one eye. He had a tall physique, and was much stronger than a normal human. His full, black body suit was nearly covered in weapons such as a sword, ammunition, knives, and guns.

"Hello, Robin." This man said. His voice was low, purring. Almost creepy.

As soon as the shock wore off, Robin attempted an escape maneuver. His hand grasped this stranger's forearm, pushing against it. However, the man was clearly skilled because he easily avoided the attack and pinned Robin's arms behind his back.

"Who are you?" Robin almost shouted.

"Oh, I'm much more interested in you. But if you must know, I go by Slade, but I'm also known as Deathstroke." He said into Robin's ear, his voice dripping with adrenaline.

He released Robin, backing away and standing with his hands behind his back, as if trying to converse with him.

Big mistake.

Robin flung three bird-a-rangs at the man, and threw a smoke pellet down. His first instinct was to call for help, but he couldn't. _I don't need Bruce, or the League. I can handle this._

He hid in the shadows, waiting for the smoke to clear.

Big mistake.

Before he could react, a large, gloved hand reached out and grabbed him by the throat, and threw him to the ground. A huge, steel-toed boot slammed down on his chest and rested there.

"And I wanted to have a decent conversation with you." Deathstroke said.

"Well I'm sorry to disturb you. Maybe you'll be a little more _turbed _if you let me up!" Robin gasped out, almost unable to breathe.

_I need to find out this guy's angle. _He thought. _What the hell does he want?_

The boot was released from his chest, allowing him to fill his lungs to brim with oxygen. He rolled over onto his stomach, secretly glancing at the man from under his arms.

Slowly, he got to his feet. "What do you want, _Deathstroke?_" Robin asked, almost choking on sarcasm.

"Just, to provide you with an offer, if you will." He said, his stature relaxing almost completely. Robin, however, showed no sign of relaxing. "I know you were trying to flee the nest, Bird Boy. Was the Cave too crowded, or did Daddy Bats simply not treat you right?" he taunted.

Robin's eyes narrowed. "Shut up. That's not what happened." He said, grinding his teeth.

"It is. It is because he failed to see that you have much more potential than he gives you credit for." He sounded almost more than determined.

"No, it's not." Robin said, trying to keep his cool. "Where are you going with this anyway?"

"I'm saying, I've seen you fight. I know you could be so much more. Join me, Robin. Join me and so many doors will open up for you! You could be a legend! You could be feared!" He paused for a moment, taking extra notice of the temptation Robin couldn't hide on his face. He grinned beneath the words. "Join me and I'll make sure no one ever treats you like a _sidekick_ again."

Robin couldn't lie to himself. That sounded _amazing. _He wanted all those things, and he was almost positive Deathstroke could see the temptation on his face. He was going to leave anyway, he had needed a break from everything here. Maybe this Deathstroke was the answer to all his problems.

_Shut up, Brain! You know he's talking bull shit!_ Robin reprimanded himself mentally.

"No thanks, I'm good. I've got a pretty sweet deal with Batman." He replied, trying to sound like he couldn't care less.

"Did Batman teach you to lie? If so," he paused, looking at Robin from the side. "He failed horribly." Robin could hear the grin on his face.

"No. I don't want your crummy offer." Robin growled. He turned to walk away, only to feel the heavy hand on his shoulder once again.

"I'd like you to reconsider." He said. "If you do it, you can still be Robin. You can still live your normal life. You'll just come do errands for me every now and then." It was _so _tempting. Robin could taste the yes on his tongue just waiting to pop out.

He considered for more than a moment, and Deathstroke knew he wanted to. The silence practically said it all.

"I'll call you when I need you. Keep your comm. In. At. All. Times!" he commanded. And Before Robin could respond, he was gone.

Riding back home, Robin thought about his words.

_You'll do a few errands for me every now and then._ What sort of errands? Stealing? Killing? Robbing?

_I am so going to regret this._ He thought to himself as he pulled into the drive way. _Maybe I just shouldn't do it. Maybe I should tell Bruce._

But he couldn't. If he told Bruce he would've had to explain how and why he was out late at night without Batman knowing. He would get in trouble just for that.

He couldn't just tell Bruce, 'I needed a break from you telling me what to do all the time and the team and being Robin so I was just going to leave without saying goodbye and come back when I felt ready.' Surely, Bruce would kill him.

He couldn't tell Bruce, but maybe he could tell Wally? Maybe.

Wally would keep it to himself, he knew that. And he would tell him what to do.

_Yeah. I'll tell Wally. _At this point, he was half mindedly climbing up the wall back into his window again. He looked at the clock and realized he'd need to be up in twenty minutes. And he was soaking wet.

He'd never get away with this.

**Oh no! Robin got in with Slade! What ever will he do! **

**The sad thing is I know Robin would never do that. I just really thought it was an amazing idea. **

**Again, this entire chapter and idea is GGCharms! It was originally going to be a one shot, but she changed my mind. So thank you, I don't know what I would do without you! **

**I own nothing. **

**Oh, by the way, did you know there's this fancy button, right under the story, it allows you to leave me all your comments and thoughts? Try it! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, let's ignore the long period of time between updates. I've been suffering extreme sunburn. I look like a lobster. I swear. **

**Thanks to everyone who added this story to their alerts/favorites/reviewed. You guys make my day, and I love you all! :D **

**Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it? **

"**YOU DID WHAT?" **Wally all but screamed.

"Keep it down!" Robin hissed. "It would _so_ not be whelming if Supey heard us! Kind of a HUGE secret!"

"Sorry, I just can't believe you agreed to work with a bad guy!" Wally's voice was so sarcastic it was almost not funny.

"I didn't! Well, I did… I don't know! What should I do?" Robin asked.

Wally literally face palmed. How could Robin _not_ know what to do? Of all people _Robin _should know what to do! He is the Boy Wonder. And he doesn't know what do to do right now? Unbelievable.

"Umm, quit your new job!" Kid Flash was being serious. Robin had strolled into Mount Justice like any normal day. But KF could tell something was off. He knew, especially when Robin asked for a word alone and pulled him to one of the extra guest rooms. Something was definitely messing Rob up. Definitely.

"Well…" Robin began, drawing out the word as if he wanted to tell the truth but couldn't.

And suddenly, it hit him. It dropped on him like a ton of bricks. He didn't want to ask it, afraid of the answer he would get. But he had to know…

"Do you want to be the bad guy?" His voice had gone from angry serious, to deadly grim serious. How did Robin expect him to react?

"I don't know. I know it's wrong, and I know I should immediately say no, but I don't know it I can." He murmured, hoping Wally had missed it.

"Why?"

"Me and Bruce, we've been… having issues lately. Not like fighting, just I feel like he's disappointed in me all the time. This new guy, Deathstroke? He offered to let me find my full potential," Robin paused, as if looking for the right words. "And he said I can still be Robin!"

"Dude, you know it's bad. You don't have to prove anything, and even if you did, becoming a bad guy would not be the way to go about doing it." Wally said.

"But it was SO tempting. Don't you ever wonder what it would be like, to be the villain instead of the hero?" Robin pleaded, as if he was begging KF for the answer he wanted.

"Okay, you want my advice?" KF asked seriously. "If you want to be the villain so bad, then leave! You can't be both! You can't be the guy who commits the crimes, and the guy who stops them!" he regretted the words almost as soon as he said them, but then it washed away. He knew Robin had to hear it, and it'd either come from him or from Batman.

Silence. That hurt. A lot.

"I thought you would understand!" Robin suddenly screamed. Wally hadn't expected that. Not even Robin had expected that. "I thought you would tell me it wasn't that bad! I thought you would not look at me like a common criminal! You were my best friend!" He had jumped up and was now mere inches from Kid's face. But he began to calm down when he saw the shocked expression. "You were my best friend. How could you look at me like a thug?"

He turned away, ashamed of his outburst and actions.

Angered, Wally huffed before stomping out. Before he made it completely out the door, however, Robin's iron tight grip was on his wrist, halting him.

"Don't tell Batman." It wasn't a question, it was an order. A desperate order, but still an order. Wally nodded curtly before continuing his nodding and stomping out the door.

*LATER*

It was an average Tuesday night. Dick Grayson, having already completed his homework, was lying on his bed, scrolling through TV channels.

Finally, he'd found something to watch on Cartoon Network, when he heard his comm. link buzz.

Touching it, gently, he was about to answer when that barely familiar voice purred in his ears.

"Hello, Robin. I have my first mission for you."

**Short? Most certainly. Eventful? Not really. Necessary? Completely! **

**Please, don't hate me. Yes. It's also rather out of character, but in order to fulfill the rest of the story, I figured a little bit of tension between him and Wally wouldn't hurt. REVIEW! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Alright, so this is the only story I haven't updated since I got back from Chicago. Which makes me unhappy. D:**

**No worries though. I have soared in with an update, because I'm super cool. Lies.**

**Disclaimer: Seriously? Again? **

The wind rustled Robin's cape back, making a swishing noise. Robin looked around, examining the area.

Deathstroke, or Slade, or whatever, had left him a message. Luckily, Robin had seen the note before Batman. Or he hoped he did. He could never really tell with Batman.

With Wally mad at him, and Batman 'giving him space' he'd had nothing better to do than meet Deathstroke on top of Wayne Enterprises at midnight. Honestly, he felt a little like a thieving booty call.

"Robin, so glad you could make it." Deathstroke purred in his ear. "Have you come to accept my offer, or just admiring the view?"

"Do I really have to answer that?" Robin asked sarcastically.

"Your mission," Deathstroke continued without acknowledging Robin's question. "Is to steal something small, a test of good faith, if you will."

"Which would be…?" Robin asked, growing impatient already of Deathstroke's agonizing description.

"There's a small bank two blocks from here. Rob it."

"How much?"

"All of it."

"I'm not so sure-"

"Backing out already, Boy Wonder?" Deathstroke said, the taunting tone of his voice infuriating Robin just a little bit more. "Pity. I figured you would've lasted longer than that."

"I'll do it." Robin said through gritted teeth. He felt he had to prove something, to show he wouldn't back down from a challenge.

"Excellent."

Small shreds of discarded clothing flew everywhere, forming new piles out of old ones as an enraged Wally West rummaged through them.

"Where…is…it?" he asked as he threw dirty shirts and crumpled homework over his shoulder.

Finally, he found the small, square plastic cell phone he'd been looking for. After only a small victory dance (because it wouldn't be Wally if he didn't celebrate his victory against the wretched device) he began searching through his contacts for the proper one.

After Wally had yelled at his raven-haired best friend, he'd felt incredibly terrible. Robin probably needed someone who he could trust, not someone who would look down on him for every decision. Even if it was a huge mistake, Wally had to stay calm.

No problem for the Wall-man, right? He hoped so.

"KF?" Robin's confused voice crackled through the other end of the phone. He sounded fully awake, not typical for anyone at 4 in the morning.

"Rob! Hey, we need to talk. Can you meet me at that old pizza place?" Wally asked, praying his friend said yes, partially because they needed to talk, partially because he _really_ wanted some pizza.

"Uhm, I'm kind of busy." Robin said. He sounded quiet, he was either on a mission, which Wally doubted (why would he answer his cell phone if he was on a mission?) or he was hiding from Bats. "Sorry, man." He didn't _sound_ very sorry.

"Oh, okay. What about tomorrow?" Wally asked, slightly deflated from his friend's rejection.

"Sorry, I promised my friend I'd help her with her math homework."

"Dude, it's July.

"She's in summer school. I'll explain later. I'm seriously busy now." Robin sounded, a hint of exasperation and urgency in his voice. Wally of course, didn't pick up on it.

"Dude, I know I freaked out on you yesterday, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. Can we please talk?" Wally asked, his tone growing serious enough to scare someone, especially since it was Wally and serious wasn't part of his charm.

He had charm right? Totally. He had tons of charm.

"We can, but not…right….now." Robin said, as if he was focusing intently on something. A man in the background was heard, shouting. _Freeze! Get down on the ground!_

"Robin, _**please**_ tell me you're not on one of those 'missions' right now!" Wally exclaimed.

"Sorry, KF, I- uh- have to go. I'll call you later." And the line went dead. Wally felt a surge of anger pulsing through him.

_I need to tell someone. Robin doesn't know how bad this could get._ He thought, he began pacing around his room at super speed, until the friction from the carpet began burning his toes. _I can't just rat him out, but someone needs to know!_

What should he do? Tell someone, or just let it go? _I could tell Batman!_ No. That thought was instantly out of his mind. It was a bad idea. If he told Batman, Robin couldn't be Robin anymore. Batman would fire Robin, Robin would be ultra pissed, Dick would find Wally, Wally would die.

_No. Not Batman. Uncle Barry would only __**tell**__ Batman, so would Kaldur. _He thought of every mature person in the world he knew who would even be able to comprehend, let alone understand, what was going on. That meant, his friends on the team, or people on the League.

Suddenly, his normal speed pacing made him fall. As he fell to the ground, he could have easily super sped himself to safety, and he would've been fine. But he didn't feel like it.

He face planted, rather painfully, onto the carpet. Or more like a pile of clothes. But there had to be a book or something down there, because that really hurt. As he stood up, rubbing his face, the perfect idea dawned on him.

He once again found himself searching through piles and mounds of dirty clothes, school books, and forgotten homework searching for his phone. After about five minutes, he'd searched every inch of his entire house. He swears. But then, a stroke of genius hit him and he realized it'd been in his jean pocket the entire time.

Searching through his contacts, yet again, he dialed the number and waited for that familiar husky voice to answer.

"What the hell do you want, Baywatch?"

**Oh! I wonder who it was! Just kidding, totally obvious, right? **

**Sorry, foreshadowing is not my thing. Anyway, I have put a question of the day in every other update, so I figured I might as well in this one too. **

**Question: Who thinks when the hiatus is over, Kaldur and Artemis are going to have to face off against the Team and get their cover blown? I think that would be super cool, but it would kind of ruin everything.**

**Another question: How do you think Artemis' father and sister felt about her death? I've read some stories about how Sportsmaster and Chesire like, brutally attacked Kaldur because he 'killed' her. Review your answer!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I HAVE BEEN REINCARNATED. **

**Call me Jason Todd. I've come back to life. **

**I'm kidding, although I am seriously sorry for taking what seems like forever. I am actually very ashamed of myself. I had to re-read the previous chapter just to remember what was happening… I've been giving all my attention to Over the Limit and Into the Madhouse. **

**If you're an author you understand the whole new idea thing and the excitement of having a new story and finishing your first story. But I, in no way, believe that that is an acceptable excuse. I really am sorry, although I don't believe that you will believe me, so I've given you an EXTRA long chapter to make up for it. FORGIVE ME! **

*******************************LINE BREAKER!***************************** ********

"_What do you want, Baywatch?"_

"Artemis! Watch your tone!" Artemis' mother scolded from the kitchen, where she was preparing some Vietnamese dish that Artemis could never properly pronounce, despite having been eating it all her life. Artemis rolled her eyes slightly, turning her attention back to the large pile of homework in front of her. She inwardly sighed. _I'd __**so**__ much rather be with Ollie right now. _

"Hey, Artie." Wally said nervously. That got Artemis' attention. Wally was never nervous, at least not that she'd seen. Not even when the Reds attacked the Cave. She sat straighter, crossing her arms. Her body posture was mostly habit at this point, she knew he couldn't actually see her. "We need to talk."

Okay, now things were really weird. Artemis closed her biology book (who was she kidding, she wasn't planning on finishing it anyway) and walked to the kitchen, grabbing some car keys that may or may not have been legally obtained. She didn't know, exactly, how the mechanic down the street was able to get such a nice motorcycle, but she got it from him. Although, she was pretty sure he stole it himself, so by re-stealing it and turning it into – what Wally inappropriately named – the 'Arrow Bike', she was simply giving the League evidence on a theft. Or that's what she was going with anyways.

"Mom, I'm going out. League business." Artemis muttered, exiting the shanty apartment and twirling the keys between her fingers. "Okay, Kid Flirt, here's what I want you to do. Meet me in Star City at an old ice cream shop off of 53rd Street. No one will be there at this hour, okay? Half an hour." She hung up her phone, not waiting for a response, and mounted the bike.

*******************************LINE BREAKER!***************************** ********

_Freeze! Get down on the ground! _

Robin whirled, not quite prepared for this. Well, technically, he was extremely well prepared for it. He had an entire utility belt full of weapons that could easily be used to evade the guard. But, that's of unimportance at the moment. Robin had expected to be seen robbing a bank as _Robin._

Had Deathstroke – or Slade, he apparently went by both? – given him a new uniform so that no one would recognize him (LIKE HE'D PROMISED) then Robin wouldn't be freaking out so much. But no, he was Robin right now, and Robin was supposed to be a good guy.

The guard, actually, was so shocked that he dropped his gun Robin smirked. _Perfect._ He already had a majority of the money, stowed in empty compartments of his utility belt and a bag he had strapped to his thigh, hidden behind his cape. All he had to do was get out without getting caught.

"They already got out, officer." Robin explained, rushing his way past the guard. He tried to not let the few quarters and other spare change he'd grabbed – he had to have a little fun, right? Most people don't steal several thousand dollars plus fifty cents – make noise as he rushed past the guard. "I'm on it, though. Good work."

"But, I saw you, grabbing the –"

"Examining the crime scene!" Robin called over his shoulder. The guard glanced back at the spilled money littering the floor, and then back at where Robin had been only minutes ago. But the Boy Wonder had pulled one of his favorite moves: disappearing into thin air.

The boy sprinted across rooftops, blending in to his surroundings like an acrobatic chameleon. He flipped over obstacles, twisting and contorting his body in a way he hadn't in years. His muscles stretched, stretching his body as far as it could go before twisting it in a way that any other human would break something in even remotely attempting.

He smiled widely. This felt _good._ He had gotten away with his first (unauthorized) crime. The moon was even out, glowing down on Robin as though in pride. There was little breeze, just enough to keep his ebony locks away from his line of vision. Gotham City was quiet for once, letting Robin enjoy this moment of complete freedom.

Finally making it to the rendezvous point, Robin settled his body down, plopping down on the edge of the building and swinging his legs casually. Altitude always put him in a good mood, the higher the better. All his problems seemed so small when people looked like ants and the air was free from the smog that had settled in the streets of Gotham.

Just as Robin took a breath in, enjoying the fresh scent of ozone, a hand roughly grabbed his shoulder and thrust him outwards, over the ledge, leaving him dangling like a ragdoll helplessly. Robin, frightened slightly by the unnoticed arrival of a guest, widened his eyes and followed his instinct to free himself. Instinct of a ten year old boy, maybe, meaning clawing viciously and annoyingly at the black, armored arm that dangled him over the ledge.

Slade.

"Second test:" Slade reported, his masked face showing no emotion. "Failed." He swung his arm, tossing Robin into an AC unit and then dangling him over the ledge again. The boy couldn't keep a small whimper from escaping his lips, looking up at Slade as though he was a child about to be extremely punished.

And he was.

Slade used his free hand to punch Robin's face five times in less than twenty seconds. Robin couldn't help but be impressed, neither he nor Batman could claim such a feat of their own.

The one-eyed man then slammed Robin's limp body onto the ground – or roof, as the case may be – and stomped on his chest several times before roughly shoving his boot into Robin's neck.

"If you're going to be in this game, you'll have to do much better," Slade hissed to the cowering boy underneath his boot. Slowly, painfully, Deathstroke reached down, grabbing Robin's leg and untangling the money pouch Robin had stashed there. He glanced inside, seemingly indifferent about the actual money that was inside. He chucked the bag over the side of the building, watching as money spilled out of its open lid and flutter helplessly to the ground. "And if you're going to learn it from me, you'll have to be tougher."

In one swift motion, Slade removed his foot from Robin's throat, kicking Robin in the face with his toe in a forward swing, and then his heel on the way back. Robin's head lolled to the side helplessly, his vision becoming hazy. He'd make it though, he refused to pass out.

When his vision finally returned to normal, his new 'partner' had gone missing, leaving nothing behind except a beaten bird and severe bruises that wouldn't fade away quickly at all.

*******************************LINE BREAKER!***************************** ********

"What would you two like?" a waitress asked at the ice cream shop. She wore a pink dress with a little ice cream sundae depicted on the hem, a light, baby blue apron. She had her glasses fixed on the edge of her wrinkled nose and her graying-brown hair pulled back into a loose bun, small strands falling out more often than not.

"I'll just have a chocolate waffle cone, and the idiot won't have anything." Artemis answered, without asking what her companion's preference. Artemis gave her a winning smile as she walked away, and Wally turned to her in disbelief. "Yeah, I know, metabolism, but I refuse to be embarrassed by your disgusting eating habits in public."

Wally sighed, giving up. He'd made it to the planned destination in less than five minutes, but Artemis didn't need to know that. He'd raked the city for her, curious as to where the mysterious girl came from in the big city of Star. Finally giving up, he'd changed into his civvies and headed to the designated rendezvous point.

"So," Artemis began, gladly accepting her chocolate waffle cone and cutting off Wally's generating question to the waitress asking for food for himself. "What was so important I had to come all the way down here in the middle of the night?"

"If my memory serves, you wanted to meet up. I would've had this conversation over the phone." Wally pointed out, smirking to himself and leaning back with his arms crossed across his chest. A small strand of fire engine hair feel into his eyes, to which he combed it back with his fingers.

"Don't test me, kid." Artemis said, jabbing her ice cream in his direction as she struggled to swallow the bite she'd just taken. "What do you want, or I'll just leave and you'll never get to tell me anyway."

"Okay, okay, fine." Wally said, sobering up. He awkwardly looked around, for any sort of distraction. "If you had a… friend…. And this friend was starting to get in with the bad crowd – the _really_ bad crowd – but no matter what you said, you couldn't do anything to help them, what would you do?" his emerald gaze shifted upwards, meeting the archer's own stormy eyes. He realized just now that they were grey, as though someone compacted two hurricanes and shoved them into her irises.

She licked her ice cream, narrowing her eyes and contemplating his question. "And do I happen to know this person?" she asked, pointing an accusing finger at Wally.

He held his hands up in a surrendering gesture, his eyes wide as he furiously shook his head no. "It's not me!" he said quickly, longingly staring at a three-scoop, chocolate fudge sundae the waitress was carrying by.

Artemis scowled at her companion's distraction and annoyingly snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Baywatch! Snap out of it." She scolded, licking her ice cream again, partially to tease him, partially because this ice cream was _good._ "So who is it? Who do we know that has ventured to the Dark Side?"

She ran through possible candidates in her mind. It couldn't be Megan. She was too eager to please the League and her team mates. Conner wouldn't do it either, not willingly anyway. Maybe Cadmus had programmed him to do some horrible thing that only Wally knew. She'd keep it at a maybe, but she doubted it (if Wally knew, why wouldn't he tell someone other than _Artemis?_). Definitely not Robin. Just because he was too young to do something stupid and he probably knew if he tried Batman would have some cruel form of punishment waiting for him. Not Aqualad, he was too loyal and respectful.

That left her and Wally. And she knew it wasn't her.

She sat back in her chair, narrowing her eyes again at the immature speedster. It did add up. He was nervous, and he called someone who everyone knew had a past. The only part that didn't make sense was the fact that her and Wally didn't exactly _get along._ Why didn't he call Robin, who was supposed to be the Kid's best friend?

"I can't tell you." He mumbled, looking at her.

"Or you'll have to kill me. Right." She rolled her eyes, licking up the last of her waffle cone. "Look, Baywatch, it's not like I'm going to tell the League. I just want to know. Besides, do you really think I won't find out anyway?"

Wally gulped, seeing her hidden threat as she crunched down on the last of her cone and cracked her knuckles. She glared at him, a strange combination of threatening and sexy. He looked around, frightened at how many people wouldn't be in the diner to see Artemis murder him if he didn't spill.

Artemis smirked, realizing he was scared. Good.

She leaned back, crossing her arms and popping her neck. "I'm waiting, Kid Idiot."

"Okay, okay. You can't tell _anyone_, okay?" he said, looking around nervously.

"Do I look like a third grader?" she snapped, growing impatient of Wally in general.

"That's not a promise." _Damn._ He'd seen right through her little tactic. Never promise something you don't know you can keep. She'd learned that from her mother.

"Fine, Baywatch. I promise I won't tell anyone your little secret." She swore, rolling her eyes. She tried to keep the curiosity out of her voice and look as neutral as possible. "Now tell me."

"It's Robin."

*******************************LINE BREAKER!***************************** ********

Dick Grayson was happy.

That was the strangest thing about tonight out of everything. He was happy with how it went.

He hadn't felt adrenaline like that pump through his veins since the first couple of months he'd been Robin. There were rules to being Robin. He'd learned them, and the job had become monotonous.

But this, being a criminal, had no rules. He could do literally whatever he wanted. It was the epitome of freedom. His face was beaming, despite the giant, purple welt left on both sides by Slade's boot.

He was going to have to figure out how to explain that one in more detail. Batman had barely bought, 'I got hit in the face by a mugger.' That was his second slip up in a week, and Bruce knew something was up. He was a little too happy to have lost to another thug, especially after the last defeat had hit him so hard.

He stood in his bathroom, in front of the mirror without a shirt on, looking at himself. He had a large bruise on his chest, and one on his neck. However, the worst were the two left on each cheek. They were big, purple and ugly. The sides were already turning a slight yellowish color, pain radiating his cheeks from even the small motion of smiling.

"Master Richard." Alfred called from the other side of the door. Dick looked over at where the old Englishman was entering from, watching Alfred wince noticeable at the size of the bruises on Dick's face.

"Yeah?" he asked, pulling on a hoodie over his bare chest.

Alfred sighed, gesturing for Dick to follow him out the door. "Come now, Master Richard. Let's go patch you up." He said, sighing again. At last minute, he muttered under his breath, "Someday, I'm going to stop patching the Batman and his protégés up. That will be the day."

And Dick only smirked, walking out the door, ignoring the twinkle he saw in his butler's eye.

*******************************LINE BREAKER!***************************** ********

**EHHH!?**

**I'm sorry. Just… ^^^ that is an update, and I don't wanna hear anything more about it. **

**So I believe you all owe a special thanks to Yuna Kimitachi and Leradomi. If not for those two, I probably would have given up on both this story and my other one, Obsession. If you follow my OTHER story, Into the Madhouse, you'll know that I have started updating once a week. So, now I have decided to take that philosophy and apply it to all three of my stories. So every week, I'll update ONE of my stories. YOU ARE SO VERY WELCOME.**

**I'm kidding, I have no room to brag… just… **

**REVIEW KINDLY!**

_**~Charlie~**_


	6. Chapter 6

**MERRY CHRISTMAS! **

**Just kidding, it's not Christmas yet. But I'm on Christmas Break, so definitely feeling the holiday aster. ;) **

**I will probably be updating more often, due to the fact around the holidays everyone else goes on vacations of some sort, whereas I go to the internet, so I'll try to update again this weekend, but no promises. You heard me, expect NOTHING. **

**Other than that, enjoy this update. :) **

**********************************LINE BREAKER!**********************************

"_You'll need this,"_ _Slade said, his crackly voice muffled by the strange mask he wore. He tossed Robin a package, chuckling darkly as the young boy stared at the cardboard box curiously, shaking it around as he tried to guess its contents. _

Masked eyes stared into a dark room, watching as computer screens being used lit up the pale faces of concentrated doctors. He should've known this would take forever. Scientists always work late. It's downright stereotypical.

"_What is it?" he asked, looking back up at his new employer – the term 'partner' had made him feel a bit guilty, like he was __**actually**__ a criminal (it was all fun and games until someone goes to jail, is what Wally said) – with curious eyes. _

_Deathstroke only smiled, his one visible eye squinting slightly with the unusual motion. "After your last missions went so… unfortunately, I decided now would be a good time to give you your new attire." He turned to leave the boy, knowing he was dying to see his new outfit. _

Finally, the last scientist clocked out, shutting down his computer and turning the bright screen off. He walked confidently towards the door, preparing to lock up after him. However, the hiding predator couldn't have that. Reaching into his utility belt, specifically organized to match his old one, he pulled out a tranquilizer disk.

He tossed it skillfully towards the other man, watching as he felt the small prick in his neck, the fell at the door into an unconscious heap. The mysterious, masked boy only walked forward, dragging the man by his hand back to the computer. He reached into a compartment built into the Kevlar on his thigh, pulling out a small blue flash drive.

Hurriedly, he pushed the button on the shutting down computer and waited impatiently for it to start up. As the computer started toe repower, he began making security checks. He locked the doors and rigged them with smoke bombs, placing motion sensors and strobe lights on the windows. Deathstroke wanted nothing to go wrong on this mission.

A small beep alerted him that the computer was up and running. He waltzed around the other desks with computers lying idly atop their surfaces, his movements full of grace and confidence. Almost joyful in nature; a spring in his step as he playfully made his way back to the unconscious scientist.

He pushed in the hard drive, his fingers dancing rapidly across the keyboard. It was different from the holographic one he was used to, but he made up for his very few mistakes in skill and speed.

Very soon within his downloading of the program on the hard drive, a pop up requiring the thumb print of a scientist who worked in the STAR Labs facility took up the screen. The boy only smirked, pulling the unconscious man's heavy thumb into the small pad, allowing it to be scanned then gently pulling the man against a wall, the program downloading manually now. All he had to do was wait…

**********************************LINE BREAKER!**********************************

"Shhh!" Artemis hissed at Wally's serious lack of stealth skills. Honestly, she was surprised Robin hadn't already heard them coming.

"_I think we should just hang out here tonight." Zatanna said, laying on the couch next to M'gann and Conner, both of whom were snuggling closely together. _

_A chorus of agreements rang out throughout the Team, all deciding to stay in for the night. All except a particularly high voice… _

Wally glared at her, his bright green eyes seemingly glowing around his stealth uniform. They hadn't really a need to be stealthy; all scientists had left the premise, and most security guards were easy to evade. There was generally only one guard on each floor anyways, so that helped a hell of a lot.

It was the floor where they found the unconscious guard, and the dim lighting of a computer screen illuminating from under the door when they knew Robin was actually here. And Artemis had to say, pinning down a rogue Boy Wonder was no small feat.

"_Can't," Robin said none-too-remorseful. "Batman business." He shrugged, looking at his watch and giving some stupid excuse before making his way to the Zeta beams. _

_Artemis and Wally shared a knowing look, before they too backed out of Team Movie Night._

Artemis met Kid Flash's eyes once more, wide and questioning. _Are you sure about this? _

He looked back at hers, his own sad hidden with determination. And without another word, Artemis prepped her bow and kicked the door in.

Immediately, the hiss of smoke bombs was heard as the foggy substance filled the room. The archer let her arrow fly on spot, sending the arrow straight towards the assailant's head. Robin, who looked nothing like Robin at all, ducked quickly, allowing the arrow to go through the window.

Great, now strobe lights were going off. Artemis was so going to kill Robin later for the severe headache she'd have in the morning. She fought past the sudden strobe light attacks and loaded a net arrow into her bow, rushing over to where she'd seen Robin disappear.

"Oh good one, now he knows it's us!"

"Shut up, it was your fault! You shot the arrow!"

"Do you want my help or not, Baywatch?!"

It was at this point that the boy made his presence known, leaping out into the open, fog covering his body from the legs down.

Artemis hadn't gotten a good look at him before, but now could see him mostly clearly. As the fog drifted out the broken window and cleared around the boy, she realized he wasn't dressed in his Robin attire at all.

He had a completely black ensemble, except the straps on his gloves and the laces on his boots. His body was nearly completely concealed by a black cape with a grey hood attached, overcastting a shadow onto the orange and black facemask he wore, both his eyes concealed by a familiar whiteness that came from the domino mask underneath.

Artemis let her arrow fly, ignoring her doubts that the new criminal really _was _Robin underneath that get-up. He gracefully deflected the arrow, slapping it away and jumping out of the arrow's path.

His motions were fluid, as though well practiced and unharnessed, whereas Robin's, though always containing the same amount of grace and beauty, were well planned out rather than free and open. The notion raised Artemis' eyebrow, but her job wasn't to ask questions until later. Right now she had to capture the kid, and then unmask him.

Suddenly, he leapt forward, tossing two throwing disks into the floor at their feet, and unleashing his wrath upon her. She couldn't see Wally, but she heard his grunts and the sound of padded gloves smacking against his tights.

"Baywatch?!" She cried through the smoke after hearing a particularly pained grunt followed by a hard thud. She clutched her empty bow in her fist, prepared to use it as a weapon.

She felt a clenched fist collide with the back of her head, spinning her body around to face her attacker. She saw him, and a smirk squeezed the whites of his eyes together slightly as he watched her scan him over once more.

He thrust his fist into her nose, then using her backward momentum to slam his jab her exposed abdomen. Her muscles rippled against the force of his unbridled strength. She bent over to conceal the pain, but then felt gloved fingertips roughly gripped the back of her head and shoved it harshly downwards, straight into his knee.

She made a loud grunt at the blunt force of impact and rubbed her eyes, but she squinted through the pain and prepared to block another jab to the head. Instead, he used her block against her and slammed both of her wrists into the sides of her head, swept a leg beneath her and watching her fall helplessly to the ground. Next thing she knew, he was on top of her, clenching his thighs around her waist and holding her hands up above her head, together against the ground.

"You're kind of pretty," he said, his voice low and crackly. He must have some sort of voice-cloaking device inside his mask. The computer he'd been on beeped, eliciting the should-be-Robin to jerk his head towards the sound. "And if I had more time, I'd stay and play with you. But," he jumped up, gracefully jumping over the desks and landing in front of the one he'd been using.

He scanned the screen, before jerking a flash drive out of the tower and looking back to Artemis, who could only stare dumbly at him.

"I've got places to be." He danced over to the broken window, where the strobe light was still illuminating the room violently.

"Robin!" she called, sitting up and reaching for her bow, quickly notching an arrow and aiming for his chest. "Why are you doing this?"

He looked back at her, his masked eyes smiling again. She couldn't help but to see what color they were; to see if they were the stunning blue color that she had seen in Robin's eyes on the mission with the circus. "I'm not the Boy Wonder, Blondie. Try again next time."

She briefly caught him wink before he jumped from the window, and she was left with a waking Kid Flash and an unconscious scientist in a smoky room. They had failed their unofficial mission. By a long shot.

**********************************LINE BREAKER!**********************************

He waited at his designated meet point to meet with Deathstroke, atop a rooftop in the middle of Gotham. He tried to stay within the shadow, quite enjoying the added camouflage of his new outfit. The black fabric made it that much easier to slip away into thin air. If only Wally could see him now…

But Wally had seen him. And he'd told _Artemis._ That stung a little, but then again, Robin was the one gallivanting around as a criminal at night time. Still, how could Wally betray his trust like that?

Robin had had to think on his feet. He'd had to become something completely different, a different person. He hadn't felt like he'd been faking though, which was strange to him. It frightened him how easily he could pull off his fake persona that had yet to be named. (Seriously, his villain person needed a name.)

"I see you ran into a few… complications on your most recent mission." Deathstroke was suddenly there, standing in front of the masked boy.

He stepped from the shadows, before the older assassin. "Nothing I couldn't handle." He promised. He pulled the hard drive from his utility belt, handing it over to the older man.

"I know. You're very good at improvisation." Deathstroke mused, taking the flash drive and placing it into his own utility belt. "I especially liked the part where you straddled your archer friend."

The boy smirked shyly, slightly embarrassed at his other actions. "I had to be convincing. They were already on to me." He felt his excuse didn't sell much to Deathstroke, but he wasn't exactly sure he was trying to convince Deathstroke.

"I trust you'll do your best as Robin to get them off your trail as well?" Slade asked, crossing his arms across his broad chest.

The boy nodded in confirmation, crossing his own arms. "Which reminds me, Stripes," he grinned a lopsided smile at his nickname for the elder, knowing very well Slade hated it. "I need a villain name. It has to be bad ass, you know, like a spy name or something. Triple life. Kind of asterous."

Slade sighed in exasperation. "Do not call me Stripes, apprentice."

"Do not call me apprentice, Stripes." Robin said, the joking tone lost from his voice. "I'm not learning anything from you. I'm just having fun while I'm here."

"As for your name," Deathstroke continued, blatantly ignoring the boy's attempt to be defiant of his wishes. "That is up to you. It will be your persona, it is your choice to be here, and you may choose your own name."

**********************************LINE BREAKER!**********************************

**Okay! Update! Magic! It exists! Don't judge! **

**Okay, question of the update: what do you think Robin's name should be when he's working with Slade/Deathstroke? You can give me multiple ideas, and if you only give one idea, a few nicknames wouldn't hurt. If you haven't noticed, I kind of love them. XD **

**But, I'll play the same question game I'm playing on my other stories: you get the chance to ask me whatever question you want! And I have to answer! Unless it makes me horribly uncomfortable, which I seriously doubt it will. But yeah, any question you want. If you want it to be private, PM me. If not, leave it in a review. You know, just talk to me! And tell me about my story while your at it! I love those! Opinions! Magic! **

_**~Charlie~**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, I just reread the entire story so now I'm pretty pumped. I couldn't get into the mood, and I honestly don't know why. **

**I guess I'm just not feeling it today. **

**Oh well, gonna try anyway. **

**Enjoy! **

**********************************LINE BREAKER!**********************************

"There is an unknown vigilante stealing from high-tech labs all across the nation," Batman said to the Team as he debriefed them. They all stood at attention, taking in the flow of Batman's words as though they were the bible. "He has proven to be highly skilled in several areas, including hand-to-hand combat, advanced weaponry, stealth, and he is more than capable in intelligence."

"Do you believe he is dangerous, Batman?" Kaldur asked, stepping forward. Conner admired the innocent, yet respectful, aura about Aqualad. He was stern, but calm. Always so collected, always so wise.

"He has yet to cause any casualties, no." Batman clarified, speaking to Aqualad, but at the Team. "But make no mistake, he _will _take you out. We have yet to identify his motives. Or a pattern in the technology he's been stealing. He is seemingly random, and we don't yet know if he is doing this for fun, or if a larger hand is working him."

What was that?

He almost swore he heard-

"So far, he has hit STAR Labs in Star City, Gotham, Metropolis, and a storage facility in Taipei." Batman listed, pictures of each of the facilities in question appearing above his head as he listed them. In each picture, there were police officers in front of the building, yet no superhero in any of them. Classic case of the Team doing to League's busy work…

There! There it was again! Who was it coming from?

There was more than one source though, and Conner knew it. Switching his focus from Batman's words to the strange noises, he pin points three sources, and three locations.

Within the chests of Artemis, Wally, and Robin. He can hear it, a small increase of heart beats. Wally's already quick-beating heart was hard to keep up with, even for Superboy. But he knew when the speedster's heart was speeding up. And it wasn't the excitement of receiving a mission, he knew that for sure.

"Do you have a visual, Batman?" M'gann asked curiously, stepping slightly forward. Conner almost followed, but restrained himself. He already knew Batman was apprehensive about there being so much 'teenage hormones' on the Team as it was. Conner being all over Miss Martian wouldn't help.

Two pictures of the vigilante appeared, and the noise returned. Why? Why did this guy make the three of them so nervous? Why was he any different from any other villain?

He wore all black in both pictures, including the cape. The only differences were the grey hood, laces, and straps. The utility belt that was barely visible in a shot of the vigilante while he was flying through the air with unbridled grace was also a lighter hue of black, though not necessarily grey. The only real differences in the pictures from League brand facial recognition software was the mask the boy wore. In one picture, it was a full face mask, black and orange. Whereas in the second, his mask left his mouth barely visible, just above the upper lip, and it was a dark red shade.

"Does this guy have a name?" Conner inquired. Batman did say 'new', but even rookies have some sort of name.

The noise was there again, only this time there was only one. He didn't have time to decide who's chest it had come from though, as Batman was responding.

"Artemis and Kid Flash have fought him before. You'll have to confront them on other details. Other than that, your mission is to take the estimated next target and place it in a secure location." Batman stated, shutting down the holo-screens and preparing to leave the room.

"But Batman, I thought you hadn't recognized a pattern yet. How can you estimate where he will strike next?" Aqualad questioned, preparing to lead his team regardless of the Dark Knight's response.

"I couldn't. But I was able to conclude a rough guess, and a majority of the evidence points to a lab in Central City." Batman said. "However, just in case, we have some spare members of the League working at a separate facility in Bludhaven." And with a swoop of his cape, Batman was gone, leaving the Team to ponder this mysterious new villain.

Conner waited until everyone began to leave, taking note that the three nervous individuals shared a 'look', before continuing on, behind everyone with the exception of himself.

**********************************LINE BREAKER!**********************************

_So, Wally,_ M'gann thought towards her comrade. _You have a thing with nicknames. What would you call him?_

_He looked kind of Goth. _Zatanna replied. _Maybe we could call him that._

Robin listened to his team mates speak as he moved through the facility, searching for the unnamed device. He hadn't heard anything from Slade lately, so he was actually just as curious as the rest of his team about what the 'vigilante' would be stealing next.

His emotions about the matter were jumbled. He knew eventually he'd have to face his friends on the justice side of the law, but he never knew he'd be one of them. What are they to do when this 'guy' doesn't show? Has Wally told them also that Robin is the mystery thief? Probably not, or else Batman wouldn't have sent them on this mission. Why make it a public spectacle?

So far as he knows, the only people who know are Wally and Artemis. And if he played his cards right, they wouldn't rat him out. Yet.

_I think we should call him the Dark Hood or something._ Megan said, the conversation having continued while Robin thought on his own.

_What? _Robin said, his mental voice scaring even himself for a moment. While his mind continued in pointless conversation, he secured the technology, sealed within a black case, while silently getting the details on it in his mind. _Why the Dark Hood?_

_It would make sense._ Wally stated, his mental voice far more bitter than he would've allowed it had he physically said it. It made no difference, however. Everyone still heard it. _It's the most noticeable part about his uniform other than the changing mask. And for all we know, it could be two different people. And, you know, the hood is dark._

While agreements rang through Robin's head like church bells sounding through a village on a Sunday, he couldn't help but think he had his new name. "The Dark Hood," he mumbled quietly, tasting the syllables on his tongue. He liked it, but at the same time hated it. It was so foreign. So different.

"I'll take that, Boy Wonder." A masked voice said, low and crackly, as though talking through a voice changer. Robin felt a hand about the same size of his own roughly grip the back of his hair, shoving him face first into the case he was kneeling over. He felt the same pair of hands grab his shoulders and use his body as a springboard, lifting the unseen body into the air and over him, where he grabbed the case and began making a run for it.

_He's here!_ Robin shouts through the mind link, giving chase to the guy in _his_ suit. Seriously, what is Slade doing?!

_What!?_ Wally and Artemis shouted at the same time. As Robin ran, he felt a small drop of blood trickle its way through his nostril, down his cheek, narrowly avoiding his mouth. He swiped at it hurriedly with the back of his glove, and continued chasing.

This new kid, the Dark Hood, was obviously pretty well trained. He maneuvered through the hallways like a pro, avoiding whenever a new team member would fly out at him. He even was able to dodge Wally at super speed. However, Robin knew he was better, and apparently, so did Artemis, because they were the only ones with enough agility and talent to move their pliable bodies in a fashion that they could hastily dodge items being thrown at them and still keep up.

Once on the rooftop, it came to a standoff, the kid waiting for the helicopter Robin knew was on its way, Artemis holding her boy tightly in her grip, the arrow pulled taut against the bowstring, and Robin standing with three explosive discs ready to throw at any moment.

"Who are you?!" Artemis shouted, drawing his attention while Robin inched closer, second by second.

"I'm the Dark Hood, apparently." The guy chuckled, glancing at Robin, though it was impossible to tell through the domino mask whether he had actually looked. Hi adjusted his stance to casual, as though mocking the up-tight heroes in their fighting positions.

A chopper's blades could be heard splitting the cool atmosphere around them, but still far enough that they still had time. They still had time to catch this impersonator…

"And you really are pretty," he muttered, his head physically moving up and down to ensure she knew he was checking her out.

She let out a fierce growl and let her arrow fly, quickly followed by another in one direction she'd predicted he'd move, and the other, just in case. Robin took this as his cue to throw the discs, hoping they'd distract him enough to fight the guy. If he could just get close enough for a fight, if he could just knock that mask off to see who had stolen his suit…

The smoke from the discs and the boom from the explosion was soon drowned out from the sound of Kevlar smacking Kevlar, and small grunts of pain and the strain of pushing one's muscles to their absolute limits. Artemis fumbled through the smoke, holding her bow to use in close combat… just like at the last lab she had confronted the supposed Robin to be…

"Catch ya later, Pixie Boots!" he called, raising above the smoke cloud and waving down to them with the stolen suit case. He climbed the dangling ladder as it was lifted into the helicopter, and flew away from the confused teens.

"That was supposed to be you," Artemis whispered disbelievingly. "But you're right…"

And Robin was gone, following the chopper by an unseen tracker he'd put inside the case.

**********************************LINE BREAKER!**********************************

**EHH!? I know, short chapter. But I'm tired, and that seemed like a pretty good stopping point. So deal. **


	8. Chapter 8

**GUYS I AM SO SORRY ABOUT MY LACK OF UPDATING THIS WEEKEND!**

**There's just been a lot going on, because my step mother had her baby Thursday and everyone's been a bit preoccupied caring for it. ** **It's stressful, not going to lie. **

**But I'm not here to tell you about the baby, I am here to tell you about what's happening in my story. **

**AND I'M GOING TO DO SO RIGHT….. NOW!**

**********************************LINE BREAKER!**********************************

The walk back towards the Team was a long one. Artemis' feet dragged endlessly onward, the walk seeming more exhausting than the run to the roof had. Her heart was pounding, but that was because she was still cooling down, and she probably had a serious chance of getting lung cancer if the whole smoke thing was an overused tactic to heroes.

Coughing once partially to clear her lungs and partially to fill the awkward silence, she continued down the building, slowly progressing towards her team. _That was supposed to be Robin…_

Her mind was clouded over with accusations and confusion. Robin couldn't be in two places at once. She'd met more super powered beings than she could count (not _technically _true, but whatever) and very few if any could do that. Especially Robin, her partner in crime (not _literally_ of course, although it was starting to look that way), the only other non-meta on the Team, couldn't do that stuff. He didn't have the powers, and no amount of technology could do it.

She hoped.

There was always the aspect of Other Robin being a clone or something, but she doubted it.

What was happening?

She heard the screeching of rubber against tile and a sudden gush of wind pushed her long blond hair behind her. Wally stood before her, looking rather worried.

"What happened?" he asked immediately. "You shut Miss M out from your head."

She hadn't even realized…

"Oh, my bad." She said casually, seeing Kaldur approaching from behind Wally. She gave him this _look_, like 'we'll talk about this later'.

"Artemis, where is Robin?" Kaldur immediately asked, searching for the Team's favorite bird and coming up short.

"He followed the chopper, though I doubt he'll get far." She said blandly. She tried not to sound too distracted, but it was difficult with thoughts bouncing around her head like a tennis court.

_That was supposed to be Robin…_

**********************************LINE BREAKER!**********************************

Energy dwindling and draining more and more each second, Robin fought through the exhaustion and fatigue, continuing to run towards that little red dot on the screen of his holo-map. Because maybe now he'd know where to find Slade rather than the other way around. Maybe now he'd be able to have this little agreement on his terms.

The sound of water crashing against a rocky shore was heard above his panting. Of course; why wouldn't a villain make his evil layer anywhere _but_ near some sort of disgusting water source that Robin definitely didn't want to get into today?

However, that wasn't the case, Robin found, as he screeched to a halt next to a perfectly clear and honestly beautiful lake. The dock was old, the wood slowly rotting away to nothing as time passed. Trees lined the shoreline, their reflections shining under the moon in the crystal clear lake.

However, there was no giant sign that said "STRIPE'S EVIL LAYER THIS WAY " so Robin wasn't sure he had the right place.

But the red dot never lied.

He narrowed his eyes, quickly scrutinizing the area. His eyes swept over the landscape, taking in every leaf, observing every movement. The breeze pushed his dark bangs away from his eyes, forcing him to turn and hastily attempt to fix them.

The leaves made a soft rustling sound as they moved, the branch swaying in the wind. The sounds of nature were so soothing.

However, a clang of metal against wood was not a sound of nature. Robin knew that for a fact.

His masked gaze wandered over to where the noise had been predicted to originate, meticulously searching for some sort of sign he was in fact in the right place.

The dark stood out among the green, a small spot in the atmosphere darker than the rest. The whole in the trees was almost invisible under the guise of nature, though Robin knew better. Silently, he skulked toward the area, his feet skillfully padding along the jagged rocks along the shoreline.

The glint of moonlight off of the metal surface of the copter confirmed his suspicions far before he reached the machine. He continued searching, until he found a suspicious looking bundle of leaves.

The bundle was too perfectly placed, too skillfully distributed. They didn't rustle and dance with the soft currents rolling through the lake, but whistled in place without motion. And sure enough, after kicking the small pile, he retracted his foot in a slight wince at the loud clang of rubber clashing against thick steel.

His gloved fingertips fumbled through the dark, searching for the door knob or something to open the stupid hatch.

Slipping into the small hatch, the lid banged shut loudly behind him, he climbed down the ladder.

The room he landed in was a blue hue due to the computer screens, the images flashing across them lighting the entire room. There were several hallways that led to other places in the secret hiding place. Tucked away in a corner was the appropriate workout gear for an Olympic medalist. The floor was made of metal grating, rubber mats scattered about carelessly. A black leather chair rolled across the mats, the man in the chair swiveling about to face the new arriver.

"I was so wondering when you'd find my little hideout." Slade said, resting his elbows on the arms of the chair and connecting his fingertips underneath his masked chin. The armor of his suit blended in almost seamlessly to his chair, though he was significantly bulkier.

"Funny, I was so wondering a few things myself." Robin said, his voice bitter. He crossed his arms across his red chest, the R emblem becoming wrinkled against the muscles in his biceps.

Slade merely chuckled, standing up and glancing back towards the screens, stolen information flashing independently across the screens. "Don't be jealous, dear boy." He said, walking towards Robin with his hands folded gently behind his back. "Your replacement is merely strategic, and you will learn to share your name."

"You have two already, greedy."

Robin whirled around, seeing a small boy almost his height. He was scrawny, strong but flexible. There were subtle differences in the two boys, this boy wasn't nearly as lean as Robin himself, and he was clearly younger. His icy blue eyes remained unmasked, piercing into the dark, only emphasized by the light hue from the screens.

"Dick, meet your replacement, Jason." The boy – _Jason_ – smirked a devilish smirk and strode towards Dick. He had dark hair, much alike Robin. Except his was parted down the middle and there was a small streak of silver in the front, beneath a layer of his bangs. Despite the oddity of this feature, Dick couldn't help but find it kind of awesome. It added an edgy feeling to the boy, making his appearance more intimidating than he probably was.

"Yeah, _Dick._" Jason said, now within an inch of Dick's nose. He squinted his cold, blue eyes at him, sneering in his face. "Deathstroke thinks I'm good enough to replace you."

Suddenly feeling challenged, Dick leaned closer, pressing the red armor of his tunic to the boy's bare chest. "Want to find out how wrong he is?" he growled, his voice low and threatening. He could feel his fists clench behind his cape, especially when the boy smirked in response.

"Yeah, how you should've been the replacement, not me." Jason said, his own muscles tensing. Scenarios were running through Robin's mind faster than Flash could run across the country. Jason would strike soon, he knew it. He would try to catch Robin off guard, to knock him down where he would be at a disadvantage. Robin didn't doubt that the kid had skills. If he was good enough to work for Deathstroke, he was good. Robin couldn't deny it.

But Dick was better. He would prove it.

Jason pulled his fist back and struck, punching forward with unbridled strength. However, he found himself punching empty air as Robin had used the boy's shoulders to flip over, bringing his legs down and body slamming on his spine in just the right spot. Jason toppled to the ground, suddenly the oxygen being pulled from his lungs.

Before the boy could stand or get into a position where he would be able to fight back, Dick grabbed his wrists, pulled them to his back, and pushed the palm of his hand into the younger's neck, successfully pinning him to the ground. He heard slow clapping from behind him, and swiveled his neck around to see Slade.

"Well done, boy," he said, stepping closer still. Dick removed himself from Jason, who's smirk had quickly turned into a scowl. "You've shone Jason who's in charge."

Despite his obvious distaste for these words, Jason remained silent. He turned and walked away, probably to hit the showers. His footsteps fell loudly against the metal of the floors, stomping angrily to where he could pout in private. Deathstroke would punish him, probably beat him severely for hours, later.

"Why is he here?" Dick growled. He raised his arm in the direction Jason had just disappeared to, as if to make extra clear to whom Dick was referring. He couldn't keep the anger out of his voice, his fists shaking as he gestured towards Jason.

"Don't pretend you don't know, apprentice." Slade said, leaning close, his striped mask mere inches from Robin's face. "He will act as a scapegoat. He will divert attention from you when you are working for me. Do you not think they would become suspicious if the thief were never there when your team is to apprehend him?"

Robin understood. He even thought it was psychotically genius, but he still felt betrayed. It was ridiculous even.

"You see the insight in this move. You understand why it was necessary. I'm merely protecting your identity from your 'friends'." Slade said, stepping away. "Now leave. Your tracer's signal has been blocked while you were here."

Robin's eyes widened in shock. Batman and the Team were probably searching for him everywhere. He hadn't gone far, only a half of a mile or so. Wally could've already caught up to him, already searching for him in the beautiful lake scene out of a National Geographic magazine.

"What am I supposed to tell them when they ask?" he asked. Why bother concocting his own story when Slade probably had three already prepared.

Slade turned towards the computer screens as they beeped, a small tab coming up on the computer with new found information. The large man typed some more words in, the fabric on his gloves tapping vigorously against the keys before slamming down on the Enter key. Deathstroke swiftly turned, facing his 'apprentice' once more.

"Tell your mentor that you chased the vigilante into the woods. Tell him you made it to the helicopter and you fought him, and you almost won but he pushed you out. You used your grappling gun and saved yourself, however you acquired a few bruises and scratches on the way down." Slade said. He stood motionless for a moment, waiting for Robin to realize just what he'd said.

Just as the information sunk in, before Robin could even move to begin to fight back, Slade lunged, pouncing on Robin like a murderous cat. He punched him in the jaw, sending his head flopping around with his body soon following. Before he knew it he was face down on the floor with the metal grating pushing patterns into his cheeks and the mercenary called Stripes straddling his waist.

He felt his wrist being pulled towards his shoulder blades, the other being held firmly in place under Deathstroke's knee.

"Slade!" he hissed, forcing his breaths out in ragged shards of air. "What the hell?!"

Wordlessly, the assassin pulled out a knife, placing a jagged cut into Robin's cheek, the same one he had punched, ignoring Robin's hiss of pain. He placed multiple cuts on Robin's exposed arms, tearing the uniform's sleeves and bruising him in several places. In the end, the Boy Wonder found himself leaving through a different entrance than he entered, wondering when it all got so complicated.

**********************************LINE BREAKER!**********************************

**Soooooo? **

**Yeah. The ending is a bit rushed, and I don't really like it. But as previously stated, I've got a baby brother now. For those of you who have never dealt with newborns, it is quite the time consumer, let me tell you. **

**REVIEW!**

_**~Charlie~**_


	9. NOT A CHAPTER JUST AN UPDATE I'M SORRY

**OHMYGOD I HAVE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!**

**There's a reason I haven't updated in a few months I think? That in itself is a story, though a short one. **

**So I have been telling my parents that I don't have homework every day so I can hang out with my friends after school and then going to places with my friends that I'm technically not supposed to go to. NEWSFLASH: That is a bad idea. Turns out, when they realized I had actually had homework I just hadn't been doing it, I started failing. And when I started failing literally every class I'm in, they got suspicious of what I do after school. Long story short, I totally got busted and was incidentally grounded indeffinately. **

**BUT I'M BACK NOW GUYS I'M SO EXCITED! I'll never do that to you again I promise. /3 **

**But, I do have some sad news. Since Young Justice has officially ended, I've been getting more involved in other fandoms. Mainly Supernatural (because Dean Winchester I mean come on) and have placed my interests elsewhere. Now, I promise I will finish this story, and my other ones. But they will probably be my last Young Justice stories. **

**However, I have been working on a few Batman stories, and I've been trying to broaden my horizons by going out of my writing comfort zone, so if you like my writing and like Batman or Supernatural, stick around. (I'm also doing Johnny the Homicidal Maniac for those of you who care, but those are mostly for my friend because she **_**really**_** likes those books?) **

**Soon, I hope to start writing some more crack fics, maybe some smut here and there. If you have any challenges or ideas for stories that you'd like to see me write, let me know because I'm accepting requests for one-shots. Or full blown stories I mean, yeah. I'm really trying to write something besides angsty things where characters get the living shit beat out of them, because –believe it or not – there is more to fanfiction than beating your characters (though I feel like it's the best part). **

**Anyway, on to a happier note. Be expecting an update within the week, I'm really going to try. I'm getting pretty close to wrapping up Into the Madhouse (the first one I'll be updating), and I think Obsession is almost over too. Reflection is still somewhere in the middle though, so that one should take longer. **

**Although, with all my side projects going on I don't know if I'll get around to them at any time soon (because as previously stated) my interests have shifted to Supernatural.**

**Which, if you don't watch you really should. Not only is it a really well written and portrayed shows, it's a great fandom to be a part of. Not to mention it's a really big fandom and I doubt it will be getting cancelled any time soon. SO. Yeah, really sorry about the wait guys. **

**~Charlie~**


End file.
